Makeover for SR 40 bridge

Thursday

Aug 29, 2013 at 12:01 AM

High over the Ocklawaha River, the underside of the State Road 40 bridge is getting a makeover.

By Bill ThompsonStaff writer

High over the Ocklawaha River, the underside of the State Road 40 bridge is getting a makeover.Crews are close to completing the scraping and repainting of the steel frame of the bridge at its peak above the winding waterway.Steve Olson, regional spokesman for the Florida Department of Transportation, described the work as part of routine maintenance.The contractor is also repairing steel fenders at the base of bridge, which measures just over a half-mile long.According to Olson, this is the first time the steel sections have been repainted since the bridge was built in 1972.Olson described the job as somewhat tricky, since workers had to take several precautions in dealing with the old, lead-based paint now coating the bridge's belly.A special containment apparatus had to be set up to ensure paint chips didn't fall into the water or onto the ground, said Olson.The air and the workers themselves have to be tested to safeguard against any increase in lead levels, he added.Gulf Coast Contracting in Holiday won the $556,355 job, Olson said.The project started on July 30, and was scheduled to take 75 days. But, Olson said, the contractor might be done as soon as the end of next week.As for the general condition of the bridge, he added, FDOT engineers grade the deck as fair, while its sub- and super-structure are considered to be in satisfactory shape.Given that, the FDOT estimates the SR 40 bridge would remain serviceable for the next 15 or 20 years.That time frame might change if the long-discussed plan to widen SR 40 though the Ocala National Forest changes.For example, Olson said, the state would have to determine whether to stick with a single span or add a second one.The most recent traffic data indicate that the bridge handles on average about 12,400 total vehicles a day, including 1,339 trucks.FDOT's replacement plan for bridges gives spans that get the most traffic a higher priority.While other bridges across Central Florida might handle greater volumes, the SR 40 bridge is "up and coming" on that list because it links interstates 75 and 95, said Olson."Eventually, the bridge will have to get replaced. But it's a real process to replace a bridge," he said."This is regular maintenance on the bridge to help it last a long time."That apparently is helping Florida as a whole. The U.S. Department of Transportation reports that as of 2012 about 25 percent of the nation's 607,380 bridges were rated as structurally deficient or functionally obsolete.A group called Transportation for America, representing a variety of transportation interests, released a report analyzing 2010 federal data on bridges and noted that it would take $71 billion to reduce the backlog of repairs for those considered structurally deficient.That means inspectors have determined, under federal guidelines, the bridge has a "major defect" that requires "significant maintenance, rehabilitation or replacement," the report states.Such a defect can lead officials to limit heavy vehicle traffic, fix it immediately, or even close the bridge until repairs are made.About 2.4 percent of the bridges in Florida were in deemed structurally deficient, Transportation for America pointed out, compared to 11.5 percent nationwide.Thus, Florida ranked second among states with the soundest bridges.In Marion County, according to the report, just 1.6 percent of local bridges were found with such flaws.In praising FDOT for its attentiveness to bridges, the group said in the report, "Florida's practices of prioritizing repair and maintenance, tracking repair needs and setting measurable goals for success have helped the state have some of the best roads and bridges in the country."Contact Bill Thompson at 867-4117 or bill.thompson@ocala.com.